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Oil rates get on supply worries, Fed rate cut hopes

Oil prices climbed on Friday, heading for a fourth weekly gain, driven by concerns over tighter supply following U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers and signals from a Federal Reserve official of capacity interest rate cuts.

Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $ 81.42 per barrel by 0113 GMT, after declining 0.9% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.95 a barrel after dropping 1.7% on Thursday.

Both agreements fell on Thursday with Yemen's Houthi militia expected to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Still, they remain on course for a 4th weekly gain, with Brent up 9% and WTI increasing 10% year-to-date.

Supply issues from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil manufacturers and tankers, integrated with expectations of a demand healing driven by prospective U.S. rates of interest cuts, are boosting the unrefined market, stated Toshitaka Tazawa, an expert at Fujitomi Securities.

The expected increase in kerosene need due to cold weather condition in the U.S. is another supportive aspect, he included.

Investors are assessing the Biden administration's latest round of sanctions targeting Russia's military-industrial base and sanctions-evasion efforts, following broader steps against Russian oil producers and tankers.

Moscow's top clients are now scouring the globe for replacement barrels, driving a rise in shipping rates.

Inflation is most likely to continue to ease and perhaps enable the U.S. reserve bank to cut rate of interest faster and quicker than expected, Federal Reserve Guv Christopher Waller stated on Thursday, countering recent market bets on a shallower rate path.

In the U.S., natural gas futures leapt about 4% to a. two-year high up on Thursday on cooler weather forecasts for the. Martin Luther King Jr. Day vacation weekend.

In the Middle East, maritime security authorities said the. Houthi militia is anticipated to reveal a halt in its attacks on. ships in the Red Sea, after a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza. between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

The attacks have actually disrupted international shipping, forcing firms to. make longer and more costly journeys around southern Africa. for more than a year.

But financiers remained careful, as the Houthis leader stated. his group would keep an eye on the application of the ceasefire. deal, and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if the offer. is breached.

(source: Reuters)